Research Publications
Permanent URI for this communityhttp://localhost:4000/handle/20.500.12092/1797
Welcome to Karatina University Research papers. The community has research papers produced by Karatina University Community
Browse
2 results
Search Results
Item Enhancing food security through home gardening in urbanizing environment in Machakos County, Kenya(International Journal of Research in Business & Social Science, 2021-04) Muriuki, Margaret; Huho, Julius M.Kenya is rapidly urbanizing at an annual rate of about 4.3%. One of the consequences of urbanization has been the problem of food insecurity in peri-urban areas. Increased migration to urban from rural areas has enhanced food insecurity in these areas. The peri-urban area of Kangundo-Tala in Machakos County is one of the fastest-growing peri-urban areas due to its proximity to the capital city of Nairobi. This study investigated the impact of home gardening in enhancing food security in the rapidly urbanizing middle-income Kangundo–Tala peri-urban areas of Machakos County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were: to identify the causes of households’ food insecurity in the study area; to examine the factors influencing the adoption of home gardening and; to establish the role of home gardening as a measure of households’ food security. To measure food security, three consumption behaviors were analyzed: consumption changes, food expenditure reduction and income expansion. A qualitative approach was adopted where a total of 120 newly settled households were interviewed. The three main causes of food insecurity were identified (i) small land sizes, (ii) low and erratic rainfall and, (iii) the socialization of peri-urban dwellers. About 68% of the households were practicing at least one form of home gardening. The need for safe and nutritious food, seasonal unavailability, and inaccessibility of food encouraged the establishment of home gardens. From the gardens, households were able to diversify their diets, access safe food and have food readily available. With enhanced stability in food availability, accessibility, and utilization, the study concluded that home gardens played a major role in enhancing food. However, the production was at a very small scale. Up-scaling of home gardening by the Ministry of Agriculture through training was recommended.Item The Media of Washatiyah Dakwah in Quranic Exegesis Study(Budapest International Research and Critics Institute-Journal, 2020-03) Huho, Julius M.; Kosonei, Rose C.; Musyimi, Peter, K.Food waste occurs when food is ready for consumption but not consumed. Food waste has considerable social, economic and environmental impacts. Even though it has become a global concern, no comprehensive studies on food waste in Kenya is available. This study sought to establish the sociodemographic determinants of households’ food waste in Garissa sub-county, in Garissa County, Kenya. A total of 165 consumers were involved in the study. Bakery products were the most wasted. The per capita food wasted was 6.1 kg/person/year or approximately 5.1 tonnes (equivalent to 39,352,110 Kcal) for Garissa County. At a per capita consumption of 2360 Kcal/ person/day, the food wasted was enough to feed 16,674 people for one day. Males were more wasteful than females. Food waste was higher in households: headed by people aged 25 – 34 years; with higher income; with urban residency and with large sizes. Annually, Kshs 9600 (US$96) per household was lost from the wasted food translating to a loss of Kshs 1.4 billion (US$ 13.6 million) from the 141,353 households in Garissa County. With guidance and good policies, food waste can be managed since the majority of the consumers were concerned about food waste and had intentions to reduce it.